Amnesty International says there is evidence that thousands of detainees suspected of fighting for ousted Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi have been "tortured and ill treated" by transitional government forces in recent months.

In a report released on October 13, the rights group said Africans suspected of fighting as mercenaries for Qaddafi had been particularly targeted.

It urged Libya's National Transitional Council to immediately halt random detentions and prisoner abuse.

The report is based on interviews with some 300 prisoners visited by Amnesty in 11 detention facilities around the country from mid-August to the middle of September.

Amnesty said the National Transitional Council had pledged to look into the claims.

Meanwhile, there were conflicting reports about whether Mutassim Qaddafi, a son of ousted leader Muammar Qaddafi, had been captured.